Lakers’ stagnant offseason doesn’t worry Anthony Davis
LAS VEGAS — The Lakers’ roster, minus the rookies, is the same. And that roster, despite healthy seasons from the team’s top players, managed just one postseason win.
So can there — or should there — be reasons for optimism heading into a new NBA season a few months from now? Will healthy seasons from Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent, who combined to play just 40 games in 2023-24, make a difference?
That’s what Anthony Davis hopes.
“We don’t know what we could have been if we had those guys, especially in the playoffs,” Davis said Sunday from the second day of Team USA training camp. “You know especially Vando because he’s a big part of what we do defensively. But, so we look at the lineup, and you know we come in ready to work.
“And last year is last year. We can’t say ‘Oh this is the same team.’ It could be a different result. For us it’s about coming in with the mindset of getting to work and seeing how it plays out.”
LeBron James, when asked directly for his response to the Lakers’ static summer on Saturday, said he wouldn’t change his approach regardless of who is on the team.
LeBron James’ son impresses on occasion with his athleticism and energy but only has four points on two-of-nine shooting in Lakers’ loss to the Kings.
“For me personally, my only mindset is to come back [and] be ready to go to work every single day, no matter who’s there,” he said. “That’s just me. I’ve always been that.”
Both Davis and James said they were excited about JJ Redick’s hiring as head coach, though Davis preached patience when it comes to how the team will adapt to Redick and his staff’s systems. He also called it a “partnership” between players and staff.
“We know it’s not going to be done in one day, one week, one month,” Davis said. “But we just got to come in and have this collaboration and take it one day at a time, one step at a time and continue to grow. And we’re in no rush. Obviously, you know, the championship is on our mind, but we’re in no rush to try to get this thing figured out by the end of training camp.”
The Lakers’ front office, similarly, has to be patient as it tries to navigate options between now and training camp. James’ signing for less than the maximum available allowed the Lakers to be slightly under the second apron of the salary cap, providing the team more options as it tries to upgrade the roster.
As it stands, the roster is completely full after Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes, Christian Wood and D’Angelo Russell all opted in to their deals. In addition to Redick, the team did add rookies Dalton Knecht and Bronny James to the roster.
“My expectation for us is to go to work every day, try to get better every day, and push each other every day. Me as the captain, AD as the captain, we gotta hold everybody accountable from the player’s standpoint,” James said Saturday. “We’re coming in with a new system, so we have to learn the system to see what the coach and the rest of the coaching staff want us to do
“And again, it goes from there.”
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